August 23, 2012
Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: "A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head. The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed, until there was only one left--his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, "Surely they will respect my son.' -- Mark 12: 1-6 (NLT)
Jesus began to teach them with stories. Stories have a habit of sticking in our minds, which tend to the visual side. What a vivid picture Christ paints for us here in the Parable of the Evil Farmers. The background is this -- the vineyard is representative of creation. The tenant farmers are the religious leaders of Israel. The servants that were beaten and or killed were the prophets that were sent by God. The son of course, is Jesus Christ. The overall message is clear as Jesus was speaking against the Pharisees, who were the religious leaders of the time. But within this parable are other lessons for us to consider today that transcend the time in which Jesus was speaking.
The first thing that stands out to me is that God created us but also wanted to ensure our protection. Jesus did not just say that He planted a vineyard but that He also built a wall around it and built a lookout tower. The wall implies the need to keep out those that would seek to harm us and the lookout tower implies being able to see enemies coming. God is always concerned about our safety beloved. We can get things so wrong sometimes. We can think God is far away when David says he sees Him forever at his right hand. We can think God has left us when He resides inside of us. We can go through those wilderness experiences and like the "footprints" poster we can think God has left us when in reality He is carrying us! Realize also that these two forms of protection are radically different. I think that God offers us protection that is simply always there, like the wall that was built around the vineyard. These protections are the promises of God beloved. They are the wall surrounding us and protecting us. They do not change and nothing will break them. We never have to question them or worry about them. The walls of God's promises are solid and impenetrable. The lookout tower however implies that we too have a role to play in our own protection. A lookout tower is useless unless someone is actually using it. Unless someone is actually looking out. There is too much bad theology out there today that suggest that we do not have to worry about the enemy and that is utter nonsense. No one engages in a battle without caring about whom the enemy is and what his tactics are.
Here is the best part of this revelation God is showing me. The lookout tower is part of the wall. It is not in another location it is a physical part of the wall. That is because part of our job on the lookout tower is to remain in the promises of God! The reason why the enemy succeeds against us is because we fail to be able to combat his lies with the promises God has already made to us in His Word. We are not in the lookout tower and as a result are too far removed from His promises. We need to be vigilant this parable is teaching us. We cannot just assume because we have the walls that we are not responsible as well for our own spiritual well--being. Don't leave the lookout tower unmanned!
The second thing that stood out for me is that God built a vineyard not a stadium. He built something that has a desired outcome -- namely fruit. If he wanted us to merely hold hands together and wait until He returns this would have been the parable of the evil stadium workers! No beloved, whether we like it or not -- God created us to produce for His kingdom.
For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. -- Ephesians 2: 10 (NLT)
I know this flies in the face of a lot of the seeker friendly heresy that is permeating the modern churches where we turn congregants into consumers and try to somehow to be relevant to their culture but the truth does not change just because some religious leaders do not learn from the teachings of Jesus! We are not there to be serviced by the church nor are we there to serve the church. We are there to BE the church. To be salt and light to a dying world. To go out into all the world and make disciples -- not purpose driven sheep. Not emergent and seeker friendly sheep. DISCIPLES. A true disciple follows the master. He bears fruit for the kingdom. He saved me so now my life must no longer be about me -- it must be about Him.
Lastly, what stood out for me is the inherent danger of losing sight of God if you are in the business of leading His people. Just because we might be called to preach or lead does not mean that we can't lose our way too. What struck me as so sad initially is that the farmers forgot who owns the vineyard! Then I saw the next verse:
"But the tenant farmers said to one another, "Here comes the heir to this estate. Let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves!' - Mark 12: 7 (NLT)
They didn't forget who owned the vineyard. At some point they simply didn't care anymore. At some point they wanted to be the owner instead of the worker. Just like Satan aspired to be like the Most High, they aspired to be the owners instead of the laborers. It is what Satan tempted Eve with -- you too will be like God. It is what saturates worldly thinking which simply makes man into God. Christianity says that God created man but secularism says that man created God. What is at the heart of this change on the part of the evil farmers? They simply lost their fear of the owner.
It is nothing new beloved. It still goes on today. I see people use the Word of God for their own ends and their own little kingdoms and I tremble at the thought of how little they fear God. I see people who have not been called to divine the Word do so for their own selfish means and I tremble at how little they fear God. I am not speaking about fear as if God wants us cowering in His mighty presence but rather a fear of forgetting who He is. No matter where this writing finds you today, never lose sight of who it is that you serve. Do not confuse the laborer with the owner. No matter what your calling or gifting is. Whether you have been anointed to preach, blessed to sing, or called to missions. Whether you visit people in the hospital, travail in intercessory prayer or greet people in the lobby of your church. We are the laborers and He is the owner of the vineyard. Lord, let me never lose sight of that.
Rev. Anthony
